Feeling Old… at 21!

August 25, 2005, 5:01 PM | 3 Comments

This year has seen a number of significant changes for me. I’ve switched jobs twice, graduated from college, gotten married, watched some of my friends get married, and watched others have their first child.

These events however, have not actually made me feel old. At 21, I am still a young man with a lot to learn, but I have come to discover that no matter what age you are, certain events will come about that make you feel… well, old.

The latest event to send me spinning through a nostalgia trip in my head is this. Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of Internet Explorer. Which also marked the 10th anniversary of the release of Windows 95. To be honest, I didn’t really remember that they were released coincidently. Really, the only thing I remember about the pre-Windows 95 days was driving to Toronto to catch a Blue Jays game and seeing this HUGE banner on the side of the CN Tower that read “Windows 95” in a vertical fashion. (The Washington Post claims it was a 300 foot banner, others claim it was 60 stories, 160 stories, or 300 Metres - whichever way you look at it, it was HUGE). Oh yeah, I also remember hearing the Rolling Stones song ‘Start Me Up’ non-stop, and wondering to myself ‘What is this… Windows 95 all about?’

I was 11 years old at the time, and computers were for playing video games. Where in the World is was Carmen Sandiego? Sure, we had Windows 3.1 running, but I wasn’t really interested in keeping with the times and reading all the latest news in the world of Computers. I was far too busy playing road hockey or roller-blading across the city.

Yes, we’ve come a long way since the Windows 3.1 batch file days, and it’s every now and then that certain things spark your memory of ‘the good old days.’ This year in particular has been a bit of a nostalgic year, and with the 10 year anniversary of the launch of Windows 95/Internet Explorer 1.0, one can’t help but spend some time… reflecting.

I remember the first time I used the Internet. It was at a friend’s house and all I knew is that you could ‘surf’ this wonderful new technology that had already been coined ‘the web.’ My first experience involved something called ‘e-mail’, and my very own email account at MailExcite!

I never used it, but I’m sure I told everyone that I had an email account, I even gave out my email address to my friends, well aware that this Internet was not common in every household. I (never) used it so much that to this day, I honestly can’t even remember what the email address actually was. And as far as I know, MailExcite doesn’t even exist anymore.

ESPN.com also had it’s 10th birthday this year as well, and while I hadn’t been an ESPN.com visitor for all 10 years of its existence, the fact that I had been visiting the site steadily for a few years and remember when all of the significant technologies ESPN.com is famous for were released, well, that was enough to give me a rather interesting feeling. That feeling of being old.

And as much as I feel old sometimes, I know I’m really not. So here’s to reflecting on the past 10 years of Windows 95, Internet Explorer, ESPN.com, 14.4 modems, and all the technology that has graced us with it’s presence over the last decade. So grab your bifocals, cane and some epsum salts, and raise your glass of ginger-ale. Here’s to the next decade of technology that will continue to wow us and make us shake our heads all at the same time. Windows Vista/IE 7 Anyone?

UPDATE: I just saw a commercial on TV for the 10th Anniversary Edition DVD of Disney’s Toy Story. Needless to say, I got ‘that feeling’ again.

Posted in: Life, Technology